Anne says:

 

Esoteric Yoga is totally unlike any other yoga I have done – and I practised yoga for 25 years and taught yoga for 15 of those years. As well as the traditional asana (postures – the physical yoga), I taught and practised all sorts of ‘relaxations’, ‘meditations’ and ‘visualisations’. In my experience none of them re-connected me to my body, or brought me into stillness. 

 

​And herein lies the difference for me between most yoga taught today and Esoteric Yoga. Esoteric Yoga supports me to connect deeply with my body and its wisdom. It also brings me into a sense of stillness that I had never experienced before in this life, such that I am gradually becoming more aware of my body on a day-to-day basis.  For example, are my shoulders lifting when I drive? Is my chin sticking out when I type on the computer? Am I tired and need a rest? Am I going into ‘rush’ to get things done? I have also become much more aware of how much tension I carry in my body every day and, from this awareness, I am gradually beginning to let this go. I am also far more aware of my sitting posture, especially when I am driving or at my computer. This has made a big difference to how my shoulders and neck feel especially, as I now bring focus more often to my chest, shoulders and spine. This has contributed to my having less problems with my lower back, which was often painful. 

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So, Esoteric Yoga gives me real ‘stop’ moments, when I can feel exactly where I am that day and how I have been running my body –in an honouring way, or a dishonouring way. For example, sometimes I am so tired –exhausted, even - when I first lie down to practise Esoteric Yoga that I don’t want to sit up again. This allows me to question why it is that I am exhausted: Have I been rushing around trying to do more and more, to ‘just fit this in before I leave for work’? Have I been eating in a way that supports my body by revitalising my body, or have I been ignoring my body’s messages and overeating, or eating foods that make me feel tired and listless, or bloated or full? Have I been getting to bed early and getting up early? Have I been reacting to situations or people? Have I been taking on another’s problems?

 

You see, Esoteric Yoga allows me to have the space to feel these things, which in turn opens up the opportunity to make changes in how I am living.​​ It has been life-changing for me, as before I was introduced to Esoteric Yoga I was seldom aware of these things. Yet Esoteric Yoga involves very simple movements -from lying to sitting, bending one leg then the other leg, sitting to lying again, opening and closing your eyes.
 

What I have discovered is that the experience of being in stillness is very much greater than feeling ‘relaxed’. Whilst ‘stillness’ is a little challenging to describe, and is best experienced, to me it is a feeling of warmth all over my body, especially around my heart, and a feeling of being deeply settled in my body and contentment.